CHRIS Hughton is loathe to temper the feelgood factor enveloping Birmingham City at present.

But he says nobody should get carried away just yet with his in-form side as they head to Leeds United tonight.

Blues go to Elland Road on the back of a nine-game unbeaten run, with the last five of that stretch all victories.

Blues have not conceded for 342 minutes and have bashed 14 goals in the last four outings.

And when you see the side finish off a 13-pass move with a goal, as they did with such swagger at Sheffield United, it’s no wonder the mood in the squad is bubbly, and supporters have a spring in their step and are heaping praise on Hughton and his men.

And it’s not just for this recent spell as far as the appreciative faithful are concerned, but what’s happened since such a troubled summer.

“It’s my job to make sure people don’t get carried away,” Hughton says.

“You could sense that (feelgood factor) by the support we had at the weekend at Sheffield United.

“I know it’s probably easier to enjoy it when you’re winning 3-0, and then 4-0 you can feel the atmosphere amongst the supporters.

“My responsibility is always to bring people down to earth because one or two defeats changes it – certainly in this division.

“We looked before the weekend when we’d gone up to sixth place and we were three points off 12th place.

“One loss and a lot of results that go against you and you can soon be three or four places down the division.

“So you just can’t afford to get carried away, and also you can’t afford to get carried away with the defeats either.” The way supporters are rooting for Hughton and co. is remarkable and he says: “It certainly is appreciated the way everyone is behind us.

“I think the supporters understand where we are and understand where we were in the summer and all the disruption.

“And I think mostly they understand the efforts the players are putting in and very much appreciate it, which is good.”

Blues have Stephen Carr fit again after knee trouble but Marlon King remains ‘touch and go’ due to a groin strain.

Guirane N’Daw won’t be available until Saturday’s visit of Southampton because of the travel schedule for his return from the Africa Cup of Nations.

The last time Blues embarked on a strong run – eight games without defeat – they came a cropper at Reading at the beginning of November.

“It’s massively important for us to keep this one going,” Hughton admits.

“If you asked would I settle for losing a game and then going on another run after that then I’d say yes.

“Any type of run in this division you know how tough it is because you’ve only got to look at our fixtures coming up and their difficulty. Any type of run is a real achievement and you want to keep it going.

“It does breed confidence but you mustn’t get too caught up that if you were to lose a game that you can’t bounce straight back again.”

The current form was due to ‘team ethic, team spirit, togetherness’, Hughton reveals.

“The players are working hard for each other.

“But they’re qualities they have shown all season. You are going to have periods of the season when they are going great for you, and periods where they are not. At the moment we’re on a good run. When you are on that type of run you don’t want it to end.”